Month: September 2024

Real Madrid, Guerschon Yabusele Officially Part Ways

August 29th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

Real Madrid and forward/center Guerschon Yabusele have reached an agreement to end his contract with the Spanish club, the team officially announced today in a press release. The move helps clear the way for Yabusele to finalize his reported deal with the Sixers.

Yabusele’s contract with Real Madrid included an NBA-opt out clause with a buyout reportedly worth $2.5MM. NBA rules allow the 76ers to contribute up to $850K of that amount without it counting toward their cap, but that left $1.65MM still to cover.

A team with more cap flexibility could’ve accommodated that remaining amount within Yabusele’s cap hit (e.g. paying him a $3MM salary and taking on a $4.65MM cap charge). However, because Yabusele is signing a veteran’s minimum contract with Philadelphia, his salary will be just $2,087,519, so taking the $1.65MM from that amount would essentially wipe out his NBA earnings for 2024/25.

Yabusele and Madrid were said to be negotiating the terms of his buyout. No details have been reported yet, so it’s unclear if the Spanish team may have agreed to reduce the $2.5MM total or worked out some sort of payment plan. Either way, the situation has been resolved, putting Yabusele on track to officially sign with Philadelphia once he receives FIBA clearance.

Yabusele didn’t emerge as a regular rotation player during his previous NBA stint from 2017-19 in Boston, but has thrived overseas in recent years, winning a EuroLeague title (2023) and two Spanish League (Liga ACB) titles (2022, 2024) with Real Madrid after claiming a French League (LNB Pro A) championship with ASVEL in 2021. He was also one of the key contributors to the French national team that won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Community Shootaround: Bulls’ 2024 Offseason

August 28th, 2024 at 10:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

This summer, the Bulls finally, officially stopped pretending they were close to competing for anything but a play-in tournament berth.

Three years after offloading major draft capital in the hopes of becoming Eastern Conference contenders, Chicago waived the white flag. The Bulls’ front office moved probably two of its three best trade chips in two-time All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso and six-time All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan. The third, 24-year-old emerging point guard Coby White, remains on the roster after a breakout individual season in 2023/24.

DeRozan agreed to a three-year, $73.7MM deal with the Kings as part of a three-team sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Spurs. San Antonio netted an unprotected first-round pick swap, as well as the contract of 3-and-D combo forward Harrison Barnes. Chicago, despite moving by far the best player in the deal, only nabbed two second rounders and reserve shooting guard Chris Duarte.

Caruso was shipped out to the Thunder in exchange for point guard Josh Giddey, who by the end of this spring’s playoffs was a barely-used eighth man, averaging just 12.6 minutes per game in Oklahoma City’s second-round series to the Finals-bound Mavericks. Giddey’s missing-in-action jumper and poor defense made him a liability in his postseason debut. Luckily for the 6’8″ Aussie, he’s not in danger of making the playoffs again any time soon.

Oklahoma City gave up a pair of second-round picks to obtain Gordon Hayward in a trade deadline trade. Caruso, on an expiring $9.9MM sweetheart deal, is one of the league’s elite defenders, and surely could have netted some level of first-round equity. The Bulls reportedly received offers along those lines but preferred to acquire an established young veteran in Giddey.

Two more veteran former All-Stars remain very available on the trade market. But the Bulls can’t seem to give away either shooting guard Zach LaVine or center Nikola Vucevic, both of whom are on far-too-generous multiyear contracts.

Armed with a core of DeRozan, LaVine, Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, Caruso and White, the Bulls went a combined 125-121 across three seasons. Chicago did make the playoffs once, during this group’s first year together in 2021/22, but was quickly eliminated in the first round and hasn’t survived the play-in tournament since.

The team has been stubbornly resistant to making significant moves to improve its defense or long-range shooting since Ball went down with a left knee meniscus tear in January 2022. He’s currently rehabbing after his third surgery, and hoping to make a comeback in the final year of his contract.

The Bulls selected intriguing young G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis with the No. 11 pick in this year’s poorly regarded draft. The 6’10” pro was an underwhelming floor-spacer in the G League, making just 27.3% of his 3.4 three-point tries, but flashed encouraging finishing ability and athleticism during his Summer League games with Chicago.

Chicago’s only major free agent addition thus far is ex-Pacers reserve big man Jalen Smith, who signed a three-season, $27MM deal. At 24, the 6’10” Maryland alum could conceivably grow along with the rebuilding Bulls.

The Bulls also re-signed restricted free agent forward Patrick Williams to a generous five-year, $90MM new deal. The 23-year-old incurred a left foot injury in January that required season-ending surgery. Due to minimal frontcourt size elsewhere, the 6’7″ wing has often been miscast by Chicago head coach Billy Donovan as a power forward, but his skinny frame has impeded his ability to get much offense cooking against opposing defenders.

Across 43 games last season, Williams averaged 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists with a shooting line of .443/.399/.788. Those numbers are more or less the same as his rookie season output (9.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, .483/.391/.728 shooting). Though he has improved defensively during his four pro seasons, the Florida State alum has been a developmental dud on the other end, hampered by a slow release on his jump shots.

We want to hear from you. Did the Bulls get enough back in their deals for DeRozan and Caruso? How should they handle the contracts of Vucevic and LaVine? Will Ball even vaguely resemble his pre-injury self? Was Buzelis the right draft pick, or will he eventually go down in Bulls history as a lottery misfire? How much more leeway should owner Jerry Reinsdorf give team president Arturas Karnisovas, who has underwhelmed during his tenure with the team thus far?

Let us know how you feel in the comments section below.

Thunder Notes: Mitchell, Flagler, Ducas, Dort

August 28th, 2024 at 9:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

No. 38 overall draft pick Ajay Mitchell is seen as the “headliner” of the Thunder‘s three two-way players for the 2024/25 season, per Nick Crain of Forbes.

The 6’4″ rookie combo guard projects as having rotation-caliber NBA upside, Crain writes , noting that Mitchell is a three-level scorer and can thrive both on and off the ball should the need arise. The three-time All-Big West guard averaged 20.0 points per game on .535/.393/.858 shooting during his final NCAA season in 2023/24, adding 4.0 dimes, 4.0 boards and 1.2 steals per night.

There’s more out of Oklahoma City:

The only returning two-way Thunder player from the 2023/24 season is Adam Flagler, writes Crain. Flager, who claimed an NCAA title while at Baylor, was a critical contributor for the Oklahoma City Blue’s championship squad in 2023/24. Of the Thunder’s other two-way players from last season, forward Keyontae Johnson signed a two-way deal with the Hornets and center Olivier Sarr, the older brother of Wizards rookie Alex Sarr, remains a free agent after rupturing his Achilles in April. Crain notes that Flagler is a clever point guard with good ball control and a solid three-point shot. He connected on 40.6% of his 6.9 attempts per game from beyond the arc with the Blue last season, and averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds overall. The 6’3″ guard appeared in just two contests for the Thunder.
Australian swingman Alex Ducas, sharpshooting rookie swingman out of Saint Mary’s, is seen by Crain as a useful occasional sniper from beyond the arc. During his last two collegiate seasons, Ducas connected on 42.5% of his 5.7 three-point tries per contest. Crain adds that, given that Oklahoma City still has one opening on its 15-man standard roster, it’s still possible one of the Thunder’s three two-way players could earn a promotion.
Despite the Thunder’s recent trade acquisition of two-time All-Defensive Teamer Alex Caruso, incumbent top perimeter stopper Luguentz Dort seems primed to retain a pivotal role on what is likely to be an elite West power this season, opines Ross Lovelace of Sports Illustrated.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks Storylines, Drummond, Tatum, Holiday

August 28th, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following a 50-32 season in 2023/24, the Knicks underwent a couple significant changes this summer, acquiring All-Defensive Team swingman Mikal Bridges and losing center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Ahead of training camp, Fred Katz of The Athletic reflects on some of the top storylines in New York, including All-Star forward Julius Randle‘s fit on the new-look squad, how All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson will quarterback the club’s offense, and more.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers reacquired reserve center Andre Drummond in free agency this summer. Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Bulls beat reporter Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune about what to expect from the 6’11” big man, after he spent two years in the Windy City. Poe notes that Drummond, though a great rebounder, struggled to carve out a significant role behind starter Nikola Vucevic, in part due to his erratic rim protection and finishing efficiency.
Appearing at a Raising Cane’s event on Wednesday, Celtics combo guard Jrue Holiday discussed teammate Jayson Tatum‘s limited role for Team USA during the 2024 Olympics, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I think everybody knows JT — he’s the ultimate professional,” Holiday said. “He already knows what it is and what the ultimate goal is. I don’t think he needed any encouragement. I think it’s more so like staying ready whenever it’s his time to be called.” The All-Defensive Second Team guard had a bigger, more consistent role in the Paris games than Tatum did. Tatum was benched entirely during the Americans’ semifinal game against Serbia.
In case you missed it, former Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony recently revealed that New York offered him a bench role when he last hit free agency, in 2022.

NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Miami Heat

August 28th, 2024 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Miami Heat.

Free agent signings

Haywood Highsmith: Two years, $10,816,000. Re-signed using Bird rights.
Kevin Love: Two years, $8,000,000. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
Thomas Bryant: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
Alec Burks: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Zyon Pullin: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Isaiah Stevens: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Pelle Larsson (No. 44 pick; from Rockets) and cash (from Hawks) in a three-team trade in exchange for the draft rights to Nikola Djurisic (No. 43 pick; to Hawks).

Draft picks

1-15: Kel’el Ware
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $20,466,072).
2-44: Pelle Larsson
- Signed to three-year, minimum-salary contract ($5,408,801). First year guaranteed. Second year partially guaranteed. Third-year team option.

Two-way signings

Josh Christopher
Keshad Johnson
Zyon Pullin
- Note: Pullin was subsequently waived and re-signed to an Exhibit 10 contract.
Dru Smith

Departed/unsigned free agents

Caleb Martin (Sixers)
Patty Mills (Jazz)
Cole Swider (Pacers)
Alondes Williams (unsigned)
Delon Wright (Bucks)

Other moves

Signed Bam Adebayo to a three-year, maximum-salary veteran extension that begins in 2026/27. Projected value of $165,348,864. Includes third-year player option.
Waived Orlando Robinson.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and between the first tax apron ($178.1MM) and second tax apron ($188.9MM).
Carrying approximately $184.8MM in salary.
No hard cap.
Taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.2MM) available, but can’t be used due to proximity to second apron.
One traded player exception frozen/unavailable (worth $6,477,319).

The offseason so far

For a second consecutive summer, the Heat entered the offseason facing the possibility of losing two key rotation players. After watching Gabe Vincent sign with the Lakers and Max Strus head to Cleveland in 2023, Miami saw Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith reach unrestricted free agency last month.

Technically, there were no cap restrictions preventing Miami from making aggressive bids to retain both players, but the Heat’s front office made it clear – based on its actions and via media reports – that it had no intention of hamstringing itself by surpassing the second tax apron, which would significantly limit the team’s ability to make moves on the trade market. As a result, the club had to hope that the market for Martin and Highsmith wasn’t robust and that the two wings might be inclined to return at a team-friendly price.

While neither Martin nor Highsmith landed as lucrative a contract as we might’ve expected at the start of the summer, Martin still exited Miami, signing with the conference rival Sixers. But the Heat were able to bring Highsmith back into the fold, agreeing to a two-year contract worth a little more than the taxpayer mid-level exception. It’s a good price for a talented defender whose offensive game has grown in the past couple years as he earned a spot in the team’s regular rotation.

After accounting for Highsmith’s deal, a new two-year, $8MM agreement with Kevin Love, and a rookie scale contract for No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware, the Heat had little flexibility to fill out the rest of their roster while operating under the second apron.

Using the taxpayer mid-level exception would’ve pushed Miami’s salary over the second apron, so the club had to settle for filling its remaining openings with minimum-salary signings. That included a new deal for returning big man Thomas Bryant, plus minimum-salary commitments to veteran guard Alec Burks and second-round pick Pelle Larsson. The team is currently carrying 14 players on standard contracts and is unable to add a 15th man without surpassing the second apron.

Burks is a solid value on a minimum deal, and based on the Heat’s recent track record in the draft, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ware and/or Larrson develop into reliable contributors sooner or later. I wasn’t as high on the deals with Love and Bryant, however.

Love’s first-year salary is $3.85MM, whereas if he had signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract, he would’ve earned about $3.3MM with a cap hit of $2.1MM. Clearly, the Heat felt they needed to go above the minimum and add a second year to bring one of their veteran leaders back in the fold, but it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow when they have so little financial flexibility — a one-year minimum deal for Love would’ve provided more room to operate below the second apron, allowing for the addition of a 15th man.

Bryant, meanwhile, was in and out of the Heat’s rotation last season and looked like a player whose days in Miami were numbered. When he declined his minimum-salary player option in order to test the market, it appeared the Heat had lucked out, but perhaps he knew he’d have an offer from his former team waiting for him as a fallback option if he didn’t find a more favorable opportunity elsewhere. I was surprised the Heat re-signed Bryant, but it’s possible they expect to get more from the veteran center now that he has a year with the organization under his belt.

The one big-money move the Heat made this summer was to lock up defensive anchor Bam Adebayo to a three-year, maximum-salary extension. The deal doesn’t go into effect until 2026/27, so Adebayo is now under contract for at least the next four seasons, with a player option for 2028/29.

It’s not out of the question that Adebayo, who has finished in the top five of Defensive Player of the Year voting for five seasons in a row, could win the award in 2025. If he did – or if he made an All-NBA team – he would’ve become super-max eligible, so it made sense for the Heat to extend one of the league’s best big men sooner rather than later in order to eliminate the possibility of Adebayo increasing his maximum salary.

Up next

Things didn’t go as smoothly with the Heat’s other extension-eligible star this offseason as they did with Adebayo. Reports in the spring indicated that Jimmy Butler would be seeking a new maximum-salary deal; asked about those reports, Heat president Pat Riley expressed reluctance to put such an offer on the table for the 34-year-old, who has battled injuries in recent years.

Despite some trade speculation involving Butler, the situation didn’t come to a head this summer. The six-time All-Star remains committed to the Heat, but has indicated he’ll wait until next offseason – when he could become a free agent by turning down his 2025/26 player option – to sign a new contract. There’s nothing to resolve before the season begins, in other words, but this is a situation worth monitoring into the season in case things take a turn for the worse.

The Heat’s other extension-eligible veteran, Terry Rozier, seems unlikely to sign a new contract before the season begins. He’s still under contract for two more years and has only played 31 games with Miami since being acquired from Charlotte in a mid-season trade. The team will probably want to take a longer look at Rozier’s fit with the rest of the roster in before deciding whether to make a longer-term commitment to him.

The Heat’s 14-man standard roster looks good to go for the regular season, but it’s possible more changes will come to their two-way slots before opening night. Miami already made one offseason swap, signing Zyon Pullin to a two-way deal, then waiving him in favor of Summer League standout Josh Christopher. Christopher, Dru Smith, and Keshad Johnson currently occupy those two-way slots, but a strong preseason from Pullin, Isaiah Stevens, or another camp invitee could lead to another change.

Cavaliers Sign Luke Travers To Two-Way Deal

August 28th, 2024 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

4:30pm: The signing is official, according to the Cavaliers.

3:39pm: Draft-and-stash prospect Luke Travers has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, agent Daniel Moldovan tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Travers, who will turn 23 next Tuesday, was the 56th overall pick in the 2022 draft. Rather than signing an NBA contract at that time, however, he continued to play professionally in his home country of Australia, suiting up for the Perth Wildcats in 2022/23 and Melbourne United in ’23/24.

A 6’7″ wing, Travers enjoyed a strong season in Melbourne this past year, averaging 12.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 26.3 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.327/.671, across 25 appearances. He has also suited up for Cleveland’s Summer League team in each of the past three offseasons, averaging 7.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 15 outings (24.7 MPG) in Las Vegas.

Word broke earlier this month that Travers had left Melbourne United to pursue NBA opportunities, and while a two-way deal with Cleveland always appeared to be the most likely outcome, that wasn’t considered a certainty until now. The Cavs could’ve traded his NBA rights to another team or used a 15-man roster spot to sign him.

Instead, Travers will begin his NBA career in Cleveland on a two-way contract that will pay him $578,577, half of the rookie minimum. He’s eligible to appear in a maximum of 50 NBA games while on that deal, though if the Cavs hold an open spot on their standard 15-man roster, they’ll be limited to 90 total NBA games for their three two-way players (Travers, Emoni Bates, and JT Thor). As a result, the Australian wing will likely spend plenty of time in the G League with the Cleveland Charge.

Once their reported deals with Travers and Thor are official, the Cavs will have 15 players under contract — 12 on standard deals and three on two-ways, with Isaac Okoro still a restricted free agent.

NBA Teams With Fewest Players On Guaranteed Contracts

August 28th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

As of Wednesday, eight of the NBA’s 30 teams are carrying at least 15 players on guaranteed contracts and are unlikely to have many additional offseason acquisitions in store. Another 17 teams are carrying either 13 or 14 players on guaranteed deals.

As our roster counts page shows, that leaves five clubs carrying 12 or fewer players on fully guaranteed deals. That doesn’t necessarily mean all five of those teams will sign free agents to guaranteed contracts before the regular season begins, but it’s worth checking in on them to take a closer look at their roster situations.

Cleveland Cavaliers

No NBA team has fewer players on fully guaranteed salaries than the Cavaliers, who are carrying just 10 of them. However, we can probably pencil in two more players for their standard regular season roster — Craig Porter played rotation minutes last season and has a $1MM partial guarantee, while Sam Merrill proved to be a bargain on his non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal.

If we assume those 12 players will be on the Cavs’ opening night roster, that leaves three openings. Cleveland reportedly plans to leave one open, and one may be earmarked for restricted free agent Isaac Okoro, but even if Okoro returns, the club will still need to add one more player to its roster as a 14th man. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs target a specific free agent and offer him a guaranteed contract or if they’ll bring multiple non-guaranteed players to camp to compete for that 14th spot.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have 12 players on fully guaranteed salaries, with Lindy Waters and Gui Santos also in the mix on non-guaranteed salaries. Golden State doesn’t currently have the flexibility to sign a veteran free agent as a 15th man due to the team’s close proximity to its hard cap of $178.1MM, but either Waters or Santos could be waived to make room for a replacement.

The Warriors gave up a second-round pick in June to acquire Waters, so I doubt the plan is to waive him. Santos’ future is less certain. He barely played in the NBA last season as a rookie, and his G League numbers (including a .437 FG% and 3.1 turnovers per game) weren’t exceptional. If the Dubs want to bring in another player to fill out their regular season roster (they’re reportedly working out Bruno Caboclo this week), Santos looks like the best bet to be the odd man out.

Indiana Pacers

Although the Pacers have just 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, they have at least four players in the mix for the final three spots on their roster, including two with partial guarantees (James Johnson and James Wiseman) and two on non-guaranteed deals (Kendall Brown and Cole Swider).

I expect Johnson and Wiseman to have the upper hand for spots on the 15-man roster, with Brown and Swider potentially fighting for the 15th spot — assuming Indiana even carries a full 15-man squad to open the regular season.

For what it’s worth, the Pacers have shown a willingness in the past to move Johnson on and off their roster. Last season, he signed four separate contracts with the club, including two 10-day deals. But the fact that Indiana gave him a $750K guarantee on his newest contract is an indication the team doesn’t plan on cutting the veteran forward before opening night.

Philadelphia 76ers

While the Sixers technically only have 12 players on guaranteed salaries for the time being, that number will increase to 13 once Guerschon Yabusele officially signs with the team. He’s likely still working out the logistics of the move, including his buyout with Real Madrid and clearance from FIBA.

Once Yabusele has signed, Philadelphia will have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Ricky Council on a non-guaranteed deal. I can’t imagine Council is going anywhere after his promising rookie season, so the only question for the Sixers will be whether or not they want to carry a 15th man to open the year. They’re well into tax territory already, so they may hold that spot open unless there’s a specific player they like and don’t want to get away.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings currently have 14 players on standard contracts — 12 on guaranteed deals, plus Orlando Robinson with a partial guarantee ($500K) and Keon Ellis on a non-guaranteed salary.

Ellis was a rotation player for much of last season and should be a lock for the regular season roster. On the surface, Robinson may not look like a sure thing, but the Kings’ cap situation works in his favor. The club is currently only below the tax line by about $1MM, so eating Robinson’s $500K partial guarantee in order to replace him with a newcomer before the season starts wouldn’t be the most financially prudent move.

I’d expect the Kings to keep their 15th roster spot open to start the season. If they carry someone in that spot, it might be another player on a non-guaranteed deal for the sake of flexibility.

Deadline Looms For Teams To Stretch 2024/25 Salaries

August 28th, 2024 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, August 29 is the last day that an NBA team will be able to waive a player who has a fully or partially guaranteed salary for 2024/25 and stretch that player’s ’24/25 salary across multiple seasons.

The stretch provision deadline has historically been August 31, and while that’s technically still the case, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked the wording of the rule. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), in order to apply the stretch provision to a player’s current-season salary, a team must now ensure the player clears waivers on or before August 31 rather than simply requesting waivers on him by August 31.

The adjusted wording is similar to the CBA language related to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January. In that case, a team must place a player on waivers on or before January 7 in order to have him clear waivers ahead of the league-wide Jan. 10 guarantee date. In the case of the stretch provision rule, a player whose salary is being stretched now must be waived by August 29 at 4:00 pm Central time to ensure he has cleared waivers prior to September 1.

A player who clears waivers between September 1 and the end of the 2024/25 season can still have his cap hit(s) for 2025/26 and future seasons stretched across multiple years, assuming he’s owed guaranteed money beyond this season. But his ’24/25 cap charge would remain unchanged in that scenario, unless he reaches a buyout agreement with his team.

The stretch provision allows teams to gain some short-term relief at the cost of reduced long-term flexibility. It’s used most frequently by teams in the luxury tax who want to lower their projected tax bill (or duck out of tax territory entirely) or by teams who want to create a little extra cap room to accommodate a specific roster move.

Teams haven’t employed the stretch provision all that frequently in recent years, but three players waived this week will have their guaranteed money stretched across multiple seasons. The Suns are stretching the $21.75MM owed to Nassir Little for the next three years, as well as the $2,120,693 owed to E.J. Liddell for 2024/25, while the Grizzlies are stretching Mamadi Diakite‘s $1,392,150 partial guarantee for ’24/25.

Since the stretch provision allows a team to spread the player’s remaining salary across twice the remaining years on his contract, plus one additional year, the new cap hits for those players will be as follows:

Little (Suns): $3,107,143 for seven seasons (through 2030/31)
Liddell (Suns): $706,898 for three seasons (through 2026/27)
Diakite (Grizzlies): $464,050 for three seasons (through 2026/27)

The Suns’ moves reduce their projected tax bill, while the Grizzlies’ move creates a little additional breathing room below the tax line.

We likely won’t see a flurry of cuts today and tomorrow in order to take advantage of this rule, but the deadline is still worth keeping in mind for the possibilities it will take off the table. Any player on a guaranteed expiring contract who is waived after August 29 will have his remaining salary count entirely against his team’s ’24/25 books.

Wizards To Sign Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, Leaky Black

August 28th, 2024 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have reached contract agreements with free agents Kira Lewis, Jaylen Nowell, and Leaky Black, league sources tell Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Robbins and Charania, all three players will sign Exhibit 10 contracts with Washington and will be given an opportunity to compete in training camp for regular season roster spots.

Lewis, 23, was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, but only appeared in 131 games across his first four NBA seasons due in large part to injuries, including a torn ACL he suffered during the 2021/22 season. The 6’1″ guard has averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 13.3 minutes per game for the Pelicans, Raptors, and Jazz. Last season, he was traded three times – from New Orleans to Indiana to Toronto to Utah – before reaching unrestricted free agency when the Jazz declined to issue a qualifying offer.

Nowell, a 6’4″ shooting guard, spent his first four NBA seasons in Minnesota from 2019-23, averaging 9.1 points per game on .447/.322/.798 shooting in 184 appearances for the Timberwolves. Despite showing promise as a scorer, Nowell was unable to find a regular NBA job last season — he was waived by Sacramento ahead of opening night, then signed two 10-day contracts apiece with the Grizzlies and Pistons during the season. The 25-year-old spend most of the 2023/24 campaign with the Stockton Kings in the G League.

Black, 25, spent his rookie season with the Hornets after going undrafted out of UNC in 2023. The 6’6″ forward saw limited action in 26 NBA games while on a two-way contract with Charlotte. He played a larger role for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBAGL, posting averages of 7.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.8 MPG across 25 total Showcase Cup and regular season outings. His two-way deal covered two seasons, but he was waived by the Hornets about four weeks ago.

Exhibit 10 contracts allow players to earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by their NBA teams and then spend at least 60 days with the club’s G League affiliate, so it’s possible Lewis, Nowell, and/or Black will end up playing for the Capital City Go-Go. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted to two-way contracts prior to opening night, but Lewis and Nowell have more than three years of NBA service and are therefore ineligible to be two-way players.

The Wizards currently have 16 players on standard contracts (15 guaranteed), with a pair on two-way deals. While Black figures to be in the mix for the team’s open two-way slot, it will be an uphill battle for Lewis or Nowell to make the standard regular season roster unless Washington intends to trade or waive a player with a guaranteed contract.

Warriors’ Podziemski Talks Trade Rumors, 2024/25 Goals, More

August 28th, 2024 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Brandin Podziemski‘s name popped up in trade rumors throughout the summer amid speculation that he could be included in a package for a star like Paul George or Lauri Markkanen. However, the Warriors guard received separate assurances from general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and owner Joe Lacob that the team had no plans to trade him, as he tells Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Podziemski, Dunleavy delivered his message ahead of draft night.

“A lot of these other teams are calling about you,” Podziemski said Dunleavy told him. “They want you, but you’re not going anywhere. You’re ours.”

Slater hears from team sources that the Warriors received several inquiries from teams willing to make “medium- to high-value” draft pick offers for Podziemski, who made the All-Rookie first team in 2023/24. As for the Markkanen negotiations between Golden State and Utah, they reportedly never got too serious, but Podziemski was considered a top target for the Jazz if they had pursued a deal.

The 21-year-old heard from Lacob while those Markkanen rumors were swirling, as Slater relays.

“He told me, ‘You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re a priority here,'” Podziemski said. “I appreciate that, being a rookie and going into my second year, hearing that from such a prestigious organization. It feels good. I’m wanted somewhere. So, I appreciate them. They could keep me in the dark until a trade is done. But Mike and Joe were transparent from the draft to the Paul George situation to the Markkanen situation.”

Here are a few more highlights from Podziemski’s conversation with The Athletic:

Podziemski knows some fans may question why the Warriors’ front office has been so reluctant to move him if he could help them acquire an established star, but he said he won’t feel increased pressure next season to perform at a high level and justify the team’s belief in him. “I won’t go into games thinking about it,” Podziemski told Slater. “I just know what I’ve done all offseason. I know how much better of a player I’m going to be. Obviously, I have expectations for myself to perform. This is my job. But I don’t think there’s any nervousness to exceed expectations. I’m just going to be me.”
According to Podziemski, the Warriors have told him they’d like to see him shoot more three-pointers next season after he launched 3.2 attempts per night as a rookie. “They want me to take anywhere (from) eight to 10 per game. That’s what they told me,” he said. “All different types: off dribble handoffs, off ball screens, catch-and-shoot.”
As Slater points out, among qualified NBA players last season, only 10 averaged more than eight three-point tries per game, and just three (including Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) reached nine per game. However, Podziemski is confident he can significantly increase his volume from beyond the arc. “The reason they said that is because I’d be watching film last season after every game, and it’s always on there: Missed three-point opportunity that I didn’t take,” he explained. “There were a good two to four each game that I passed up. If you look at that, it’s a good five to seven per game I could’ve got up. Now with Klay being gone, Chris (Paul) being gone, someone is going to have to handle the ball a little bit more. I think I’m more than capable of doing that. Given that, I think it leads me to have more threes.”
Discussing his involvement in Team USA’s pre-Olympic workouts as a member of the Select Team, Podziemski said he appreciated the opportunity to guard players like Curry and Jrue Holiday in scrimmages, since it helped prepare him for the types of defensive assignments he wants to take on next season: “With Steph out there, you’re not going to have him guard the best guard. So, it’s on me taking that challenge of what Klay used to do. It’s something I want and have that not be the reason (head coach) Steve (Kerr) doesn’t play me, because I can’t guard their best guard.”

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